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Ragdoll is interviewing teachers … Malkin has a new piano … Carlos is going to be a TV star … adultpianist is making great progress with exam pieces … That’s why I love this thread: all sorts of exciting news. I don’t post here a lot but I do try to stop by every so often. It’s always good for a pick-me-up.

Today, I’ll join in with some good news: Yesterday, I surprised my teacher in the nicest possible way with the progress I’m making on Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor (posthumous)!

At our last lesson, two weeks ago, I’d told my teacher I wanted to play the waltz for her holiday “piano party” in December, and we both knew it would require a LOT of work. Considering my very inconsistent practice habits, the idea was a bit reckless – but, as I told my teacher, sometimes the best thing for me is a big challenge and a hard deadline. I was able to work up near all of the right hand for her yesterday. Not perfectly, of course – but we were both pretty darned thrilled with how much I’ve achieved so far. We spent the rest of the lesson sorting out few timing issues on the RH and then worked on the LH and discussed practicing, performance, etc.

FYI, the party will be a small affair as my teacher is semi-retired and teaches only a handful of students. She hosts a couple of lunches a year, and it’s about as low-pressure as any “public” performance can be.

...At our last lesson, two weeks ago, I’d told my teacher I wanted to play the waltz for her holiday “piano party” in December, and we both knew it would require a LOT of work. Considering my very inconsistent practice habits, the idea was a bit reckless – but, as I told my teacher, sometimes the best thing for me is a big challenge and a hard deadline. I was able to work up near all of the right hand for her yesterday. Not perfectly, of course – but we were both pretty darned thrilled with how much I’ve achieved so far. We spent the rest of the lesson sorting out few timing issues on the RH and then worked on the LH and discussed practicing, performance, etc.

FYI, the party will be a small affair as my teacher is semi-retired and teaches only a handful of students. She hosts a couple of lunches a year, and it’s about as low-pressure as any “public” performance can be.

Congratulations on your progress with the Waltz. It is such a lovely piece. Piano parties are a great way to debut playing for others. I started piano parties for my teacher last year, and they have been a wonderful experience. The low key setting makes it a whole lot less intimidating that a formal recital. You meet other piano enthusiast and everyone is supportive. Like this forum!!

I'm just the cheering section for the odd accomplishment here and there these days... I've got a lot of life to juggle these days and lack much of time or energy for accomplishments. But I can still say "Yay!" for my friends here.

happy birthday piano_deb! and also congrats on your progress with the waltz...I'm currently working on the same piece. I'm hoping to get it to a decent level by December as well although I don't have the pressure of getting it "performance" ready by then. Good luck with practice and pls post your version on the piano bar when it's ready. Looking forward to hearing your interpretation.

_________________________
Adult beginner since January 2013. My only regret is that I didn't learn sooner.

SwissMS and tangleweeds, thanks very much for the support and birthday wishes! My lesson yesterday was quite a nice gift to myself, I suppose.

ElleC, the great thing about piano parties is that a piece doesn't to be performance-ready, only "the thing I'm working on now." My teacher and I discussed a great many aspects yesterday, and I know that I won't be pedaling (hip problems and general lead-footedness), plus I'm only aiming for a tempo somewhere north of 50 bpm. While I have a ways to go, I will continue to prepare hard and do my best. I love the piece so much that I do intend to continue working on it well beyond December. It's the first piece I've worked on that I want to absolutely polish, and memorize, and make mine forever.

And the first went off into a ditch festooned with red flags the first 15 minutes. The guy was/is a real arrogant A$$hat. I'm surprised he can play piano what with those chip laden shoulders, to say nothing of teaching someone else. Not a chance!

So true!Thanks everyone for the grand wishes. I do love to read all the accomplishments too! And birthdays! I'm planning on birthday mileage for the rest of my life with this piano!

As we slowly put the house back together, it is interesting to hear how every change affects the sound of the piano. Moving a chair here or there or hanging a couple pictures on the wall make a noticeable difference. The room is still quite acoustically live; it is half empty as much of our stuff is in the basement, the door to which is blocked by the refrigerator, which won't be moved until the kitchen floor is finished, which won't happen until the tile arrives, which won't happen until whenever it happens. But who can complain when there is such a piano in the house?!

_________________________ Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it.– Roald Dahl

And the first went off into a ditch festooned with red flags the first 15 minutes. The guy was/is a real arrogant A$$hat. I'm surprised he can play piano what with those chip laden shoulders, to say nothing of teaching someone else. Not a chance!

Next one set for Saturday morning.

Oh no. But I laughed at your description. Better to know now, rather finding out after you sign up with him. Better luck with the next interview.

And happy birthday to piano_deb!

malkin - sounds like things are a mess in the house, but you're keeping a good attitude about it all.

Ragdoll--I found looking for a teacher to be surprisingly awful and it took me the better part of a year!I took a few lessons from a guy who was fine, but not a good fit for me. Several people didn't return calls, and a couple others stated that they had a waiting list, but didn't offer to put me on it (I can take a hint!)

All's well that ends well though, so hang in there with the teacher auditions and you'll end up with the right one for you.

_________________________ Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it.– Roald Dahl

Malkin - congrats on the new piano and I hope the kitchen work gets wrapped up soon! (But at least you have a lovely distraction from the chaos). Looking forward to seeing pics!

Piano-deb - belated happy birthday - hope your day was great! I love that Waltz! I've been puttering about with it on my own for a while and hope to be able to play it sometime this coming year. Even at my wobbly stage it makes me happy to play that piece. Have fun at the piano party!

Ragdoll - yikes! That doesn't sound like a nice experience at all. At least you found out right away and didn't have to waste time with him. Better luck with the next try!

My ATOW is that I can really see how much better I'm playing with my teacher this year. I can feel a new level of being in control, being able to recover while being watched. I have also pulled out the Christmas carols and it is really nice to see how much easier they are to play than last year. This is the third year I've had the book and it has been a bit of a benchmark from the start.

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Ragdoll--I found looking for a teacher to be surprisingly awful and it took me the better part of a year!I took a few lessons from a guy who was fine, but not a good fit for me. Several people didn't return calls, and a couple others stated that they had a waiting list, but didn't offer to put me on it (I can take a hint!)

You found the perfect teacher eventually though?

Don't be too hard on the ones with a waiting list. It's GOOD that they have a full schedule, and don't anticipate many of their current students leaving in the near future. Would you prefer one who said "You're #10 on the waiting list, that should mean 3 or 4 weeks..."?

But is it possible that you came across as fussy, knowing EXACTLY how you were prepared to be taught..? :-)

Ragdoll--I found looking for a teacher to be surprisingly awful and it took me the better part of a year!I took a few lessons from a guy who was fine, but not a good fit for me. Several people didn't return calls, and a couple others stated that they had a waiting list, but didn't offer to put me on it (I can take a hint!)

@malkin Well I hope it doesn't take that long but I do know what I need/want in a teacher so whatever it takes.

Quote:

Ragdoll - yikes! That doesn't sound like a nice experience at all. At least you found out right away and didn't have to waste time with him. Better luck with the next try!

@cas Exactly I knew almost immediately. I've also received another potential candidate from my tech, so things are looking OK.

Quote:

But is it possible that you came across as fussy, knowing EXACTLY how you were prepared to be taught..? :-)

@EW to malkin You say that like it's a bad thing. It's only right to get what you pay for; if a person knows what they want then why settle for less?

But is it possible that you came across as fussy, knowing EXACTLY how you were prepared to be taught..? :-)

@EW to malkin You say that like it's a bad thing. It's only right to get what you pay for; if a person knows what they want then why settle for less?

Indeed.I don't presume to tell my teacher what to teach me -but the "how" of teaching is certainly an important factor.

Sometimes a teacher's choice of method teaching doesn't match a student's method of learning. A good teacher will adapt to work with the student and approach the subject from different angles (in fact teachers are TAUGHT how to do just that). The thing is that many teachers get locked into their pattern and won't look at any divergence from their "norm" or "standard" regardless of how well it is (or isn't) working for the student.

I stopped working with an Italian teacher because her approach was completely unsuited to my learning style and she drove me crazy! She may have been a great teacher - but not for me!

Fortunately I haven't had this sort of problem with my piano teachers!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Ragdoll, like you, I'd worked for a while with an unsuitable teacher. In fact, this may even top your experience: In addition to being rather disorganized and scattershot in her approach, she was teaching out her ex's house without telling me that she didn't actually live there anymore. I found out the day she didn't show up for my lesson and I made the mistake of ringing the doorbell: The ex answered and started screaming at me for being there. Apparently, she didn't actually own the Kimball piano we'd been using, either; when she moved in with a new roommate, we ended up using an ancient thing, about 100 years old, shot to heck, not tuned in memory, with a couple of dead keys and missing keytops.

It's almost funny now, but ... oh, golly!

Fyi, if you haven't done so yet, do ask your piano tech for teacher recommendations. Many techs are accomplished musicians, and they know which teachers take care of their pianos. That's how I found my wonderful teacher. My requirements were to find a teacher who could provide a fundamental/traditional musical education, focusing on classical music and including theory, who was experienced teaching adults, and who had a well maintained instrument. Over time, I have learned to trust my teacher to teach me (instead of thinking I knew what I needed to learn next), and we've both been flexible about what pieces to work on, books to use, etc. She's also learned that I am a terrible student with bad/nonexistent practice habits and a tendancy to want to move on to the next piece before I'm ready. :p

Cas, congrats on recognizing your year-to-year progress! I'm sure you've been making headway all along -- but *seeing* it can be a different matter. I'm curious about your continued work with the same Christmas carol arrangements. What book are you using?

Ragdoll, my bad! I confused your search for a teacher with a thread by shaolin95, who'd had a bad teacher with a bad piano. You probably wondered why I was telling you my crazy former teacher story ... *facepalm*

Cas, congrats on recognizing your year-to-year progress! I'm sure you've been making headway all along -- but *seeing* it can be a different matter. I'm curious about your continued work with the same Christmas carol arrangements. What book are you using?

I am using the Joy of Christmas (Agay) book. I was overly optimistic when I bought it.

Your story about the teacher using her ex's home is both funny and outrageous.

...she was teaching out her ex's house without telling me that she didn't actually live there anymore....

Hold on... do you mean, she was sneaking in there with you? She still had a key (or jimmied the window, or who-knows-what) and scheduled you for a time when he would be at work or otherwise (hopefully) not around?!?

_________________________
"...when you do practice properly, it seems to take no time at all. Just do it right five times or so, and then stop." -- JimF

I am using the Joy of Christmas (Agay) book. I was overly optimistic when I bought it.

I really like Agay’s piano solo books, so I’ll definitely be looking to get the Joy of Christmas. It doesn’t surprise me you’re taking some time to get through it. It's actually bigger than his skinny little “Intro Classics to Moderns” text that I may never get all the way through.

Originally Posted By: aTallGuyNH

Originally Posted By: piano_deb

...she was teaching out her ex's house without telling me that she didn't actually live there anymore....

Hold on... do you mean, she was sneaking in there with you? She still had a key (or jimmied the window, or who-knows-what) and scheduled you for a time when he would be at work or otherwise (hopefully) not around?!?

I suppose they had some kind of agreement? She acted like it was her house -- was there ready for me to arrive, front door open -- until the day I woke up the ex by ringing the doorbell, etc. As I recall, I balked at meeting her at that house again, so she switched to the roommate's condo, but the sad-sack piano did me in. I did feel rather sorry for her. It seemed her life has just tanked and she was trying to get back on her newly single feet, but, well, obviously it was an unworkable situation.

She was the second teacher I'd tried. The first was a Russian lady in Chicago who talked to me like I was four years old and used a text that would have suited me if I had been. Apparently, she didn't understand the question "Do you teach adult students?" meant that I was looking for a teacher who was used to teaching adults. :p

Thankfully, the third time was the charm, and I finally met my wonderful, wonderful *real* teacher. I'm sticking to her like glue!

@pianodeb --- It isn't only that it is a biggish book, but that I have only really "studied" a couple of pieces. In effect I just sit down and try to play them. The first year it was almost hopeless. The second year it was better. This year it's going really well. My favourite piece is Oh Holy Night, but there is a huge selection - included a few Italian carols, and some I've never seen.There's an interesting arrangement of "Il est ne le divin enfant" by Agay which I have been dabbling with and find quite charming.

Tonight we have an "Adventure" of the week! - We're going into Milan for a concert.Argerich and Kremer. The program is Mieczysław Weinberg Sonata 3 op. 126 violin solo, Sonata n. 5 op. 53 for violin and piano, plus Beethoven : Sonata in G major op. 30 and Sonata in G major op. 96.AND....we'll meet Sinophillia

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Tonight we have an "Adventure" of the week! - We're going into Milan for a concert.Argerich and Kremer. The program is Mieczysław Weinberg Sonata 3 op. 126 violin solo, Sonata n. 5 op. 53 for violin and piano, plus Beethoven : Sonata in G major op. 30 and Sonata in G major op. 96.AND....we'll meet Sinophillia smile

How nice for you, both the concert and meeting a fellow PW member. Not familiar with this opus but will look for it on YouTube for a listen.